The National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. has a show worth seeing: Elaine de Kooning: Portraits. The exhibition gives an in-depth view into the creative process of the wife of Willem de Kooning, a famous a Dutch American abstract expressionist. Elaine (1918 - 1989) focused on portraits of friends and family. Her work was valued during her lifetime and her friends included Allen Ginsberg and Fairfield Porter. Her figures, done in vivid colors and wide brushstrokes, are large-scale, impressive, and intense. Even across an exhibition room, her portraits hold attention and make a statement. Elaine did many studies of each subject - in charcoal and in paint. She enjoyed working on the same pose until she captured the person's personality - something special about them, something that set them apart, e.g., a gesture or the warmth of their eyes. Ultimately, through her work, she was seeking an answer to "What makes a person?" question (apart from the physical aspects of each individual). Color scheme was a huge element in conveying a person's character.